The Jews, Aquila and Priscilla, moved about frequently, and their journeying’s provide a further example of unarranged agreement between the Acts and the Epistles. Romans 16:3, 4 reads, “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my helpers in Christ Jesus; who for my life laid down their own necks; unto whom, not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.” The two are first mentioned in Acts 18: 1-3. They had come to Corinth from Rome, because the Emperor Claudius had banished all Jews from Rome (incidentally this banishment is described by the Roman historians, Orosius and Suetonius). Like the apostle, Aquila and Priscilla were tent makers, and this community of interest led to their living in the same house. When the apostle left Greece for Asia Minor, they went with him and settled for a time in Ephesus. It seems certain that Paul wrote the first letter to the Corinthians at this time. The uninspired subscription to the letter says that it was written from Philippi in Macedonia. Yet, in I Corinthians 16:8, the apostle states that he intends to stay in Asia Minor, at Ephesus, until Pentecost. Also verse 19 records, “The churches in Asia (Minor) salute you.” The same verse sends the fervent greetings of Aquila and Priscilla; so they were with Him then. Greetings were also sent from the church in the house of the apostle’s two friends. In 2 Timothy 4:19, the apostle calls Priscilla, Prisca, in the name’s proper form. Luke, well known for his respect for womanhood, in writing the Acts of the Apostles uses its diminutive, Priscilla (Acts 18:2, 18, 26). The Apostle Paul also calls her Priscilla in two of his epistles (Romans 16:3 and 1 Cor. 16:19).
The contribution made by Priscilla to the joint efforts of her husband and herself is indicated by the fact that twice the apostle puts her name first. (Romans 16:3 and 2 Tim. 14:19). Luke does likewise in Acts 18:16.
After the apostle left Ephesus, Aquila and Priscilla continued in the work and performed a notable service to the Christian cause when they remedied the deficiencies of Apollos in his understanding of the Gospel (Acts 18:24-26). Meanwhile Paul went to Caesarea, Jerusalem and Antioch. Later, he returned through the Galatians and Phrygian districts of Asia Minor and came back to Ephesus. His preaching here brought about the riot in the city, caused by the fears of the craftsmen, who made articles for presentation to the goddess, Diana, that, if he were listened to, their profitable trade would be ruined. He almost lost his life. Aquila and Priscilla are not mentioned in connection with these events (Acts 19:23-41) and it seems therefore that they had left Ephesus by this time. From Ephesus, the apostle “went over” the parts of Macedonia, giving the churches there much exhortation and eventually arrived in Corinth where he spent three months. Towards the end of his stay, he wrote the letter to the Romans, before beginning his last journey to Jerusalem. By the time that the epistle was written, Aquila and Priscilla had returned to Rome and thus the apostle was able to greet them in his letter. The considerable activities of Paul after he left his friends in Ephesus allow ample time for their removal to Italy.
During the eighteen months, which the apostle first spent in Corinth, living with Aquila and Priscilla, the unbelieving Jews opposed him bitterly and blasphemed and attacked him (Acts 18:6, 12). A vision from the Lord encouraged him to persevere in his work. Aquila and Priscilla, regarded as renegades by orthodox Jews, shared his dangers and persecutions, as stated in Romans 16:3, 4. By their fidelity they earned, not only his gratitude, but also that of the Gentile Christians. The great offense of the Christians in Jewish eyes was the admission of Gentiles to the faith, and the Christian belief that the Law of Moses had been superseded.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One